Fan



June 19, 1934.

[Mm/m5 L ,4 PESME/V i ATTUJWY Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE FAN Louis A. Pesmen, Chicago, Ill. Application June 26.1933, Serial No. 77,592

4 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a hand fan of the collapsible type and refersparticularly to anovel means for interlocking the leaves of the fan toprevent accidental collapse of the same.

Fans of this general type are well known in the art,'as shown by U. S.Letters Patent No. 835,761 issued November 13, 1906, to D. T; Kendrick.However, it has been deemed necessary, hereto fore, to providecooperating slits or some similar construction in order to maintain thefan in open position. This type of structure is'open to many objections.Inthe first place the leaves of the fan are weakened by slitting so thatthey may become bent or torn in the vicinity of the slits. The result isthat the appearance of the fan is invariably spoiled after the first fewtimes it is used, and the interlocking means is soon destroyed so thatthe fan becomes useless. Another disadvantage of providing slits tointerlock the leaves of thefan is that the slits break the continuity ofthe leaves and detract appreciably from the beauty of any decorativedesign that may be placed on the leaves.

In fans such as that disclosed in the Kendrick patent, hereinabovementioned, it is necessary to exercise great care in cutting the slitsand assembling the leaves to insure subsequent accurate registration ofthe slits in adjacent leaves. If any slit fails to meet its mating slitin the adjacent leaf accurately, it is impossible to interlock theleaves without tearing them. Even when the slits are properlyregistered, it is necessary to exercise considerable care to preventtearing of the leaves in the process of interlocking the same.

It is an object of my invention to provide a fan in which the leaves maybe interlocked to maintain the fan in open position with a minimum oftime and effort. It is a further object of my invention to provide theleaves of a fan with means for interlocking the same in open positionthat will not weaken the leaves or interfere with any decorative designthat might be placed on the leaves. It is a further object of myinvention to provide means for interlocking the leaves of a fan thatwill be positive in operation and will permit ready disengagement of theleaves from interlocked engagement when it is desired to move the leavesto closed position. It is a further object of my invention to provide asimple and eificient fan that may be manufactured and assembled with aminimum of labor and expense. Other objects of my invention will becomeapparent upon reading the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawing in which:

\ Figure l is a front elevation of my fan with the leaves in'closedposition;

Figure -2 is a side elevation of the leaves in closed position; and

Figure 3 is a front elevation of my fan with the leaves in openposition.

As shown in the drawing, the fan includes a plurality of leaves 2pivotally connected adjacent their bottom edges by means of a rivet oreyelet 3. The leaves 2 are tapered downwardly so that the fan can behandled conveniently. The pivotal connection 3 permits the leaves 2 to'be spread out in open position for use as a fan, or collapsed tofacilitate carrying.

Although the exact shape of the leaves 2 is matter of choice, certaincharacteristics are essential in order to attain the desired results.The leaves 2 are provided with continuous edges. By continuous I meanthat the edges are not interrupted by slits or notches of any kind. Thepreferred embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawing showsthe leaves 2 provided with straight side walls 4 extending over a majorportion of the height of the leaves and ending at the point indicated bythe reference numeral 5 in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawing.

The edges of the leaves 2 adjacent the point 5 are curved outwardly, asindicated at 6, and then inwardly, as indicated at 7, to provide a pairof symmetrical projections 8 on opposite edges of each leaf 2. AlthoughI have shown a sharp pointed projection 8 as my preferred form, it willbe obvious that the projection may function efliciently if it isrounded, or is made of any other desirable shape. The edges of theleaves 2 between the upper ends of the curves '7 may be of any desiredconfiguration. It is desirable, however, that the configuration of thetop edges of the individual leaves harmonize with the particulardecorative design applied to the fan.

After the leaves of the fan have been spread apart fanwise, they may bemaintained in open position by flexing the upper portions of twoadjacent leaves toward each other until the projections 8 cross eachother and then moving the leaves toward each other on the pivot 3 as faras the meeting edges of the leaves will permit. The mating projections 8will then be interlocked so that it will be impossible for the leaves tobe moved accidentally to closed position. The interlocking engagementmay be effected between any two leaves in a fan regardless of therelative position of the leaves in the series comprising the fan. Theinterlocking engagement of the leaves is positive regardless of thedegree of accuracy my fan with with which the leaves may be assembled inmaking the fan.

In order to collapse the fan it is necessary only to spread the leaves 2radially far enough to separate the projections 8 of adjacent leaves.The inherent resilience of the leaves will cause the projections 8 ofeach leaf to spring back to the plane of the body portion of its leaf.The leaves may then be swung around the pivot 3 until they are allsuperimposed without any interference from each other. The projections 8will not catch on each other during the closing operation because thenormal tendency of the leaves is to lie fiat in their own plane and theymust be twisted or bent slightly out of said plane before they can beinterlocked.

The individual leaves 2 may each be decorated with an individual design,or, preferably, each leaf may be decorated With a portion of a largerdesign so that when the fan is opened the individual designs will uniteto present one complete design. In the embodiment illustrated, the leaf2 has its lower body portion decorated with a design 9 which is repeatedon every leaf of the series comprising the fan. The top of the leaf isdecorated with a running design 10 which is also repeated on every leafof the series. Between the decorative designs 9 and 10, each leaf isprovided with an individual design 11 which constitutes a portion of alarger design. When the leaves of the fan are opened, as shown in Figure3, the individual designs 11 unite to constitute one integral design.

The designs 11 may, of course, be separate and distinct designs. In thisevent it is desirable for each of the designs to harmonize with all theothers. The chief advantage of having separate and distinct designs isthat the particular order in which the leaves are interlocked can neveraffect the appearance of the fan. In purely imaginary decorativeeffects, each design 11 may be fixed so that it will fit in any positionin the series, but in the case of an actual panorama reproduced anddivided into various sections, it is necessary that the individualsections be interlocked in a definite sequence in order to present theentire decorative design accurately.

Although I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention, itwill be understood that such description is intended to be illustrativerather than restrictive, as many details may be modified or changedwithout departing from the spirit or'scope of my invention. Accordingly,I do not desire to be restricted to the exact details described exceptas limited by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a fan, a plurality of leaves having continuous unnotched edges,means pivotally securing said leaves together, and means integral withsaid continuous edges to interlock said leaves.

2. A fan including a plurality of leaves having continuous unbrokenedges, means pivotally securing said leaves together, and projectionsintegral with said leaves adapted to maintain said fan in open position.

3. In a fan, a plurality of leaves pivotally connected in predeterminedrelationship, each of said leaves having continuous unnotched edges, andprojections integral with said leaves adapted to interlock to maintainsaid leaves in open position, said leaves and projections being providedwith complementary portions of a decorative design so that said fan willpresent a single unitary design when opened.

4. In a fan, a series of resilient leaves having continuous unbrokenedges, means pivotally connecting said leaves adjacent one end, andprojections extending from opposite edges of each of said leaves, eachprojection being engageable with any projection on the opposite edge ofany other leaf of the series to maintain said sheets in open position.

LOUIS A. PESMEN.

